Comfort aspect key for voters - Character counts

Penn Live, PA ^ | October 31, 2004 | RUSS FLANAGAN

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The flip-flopper vs. the boot-wearing war monger.

The war hero vs. the steady commander-in-chief.

No matter which labels are closest to the truth, Americans will go to the ballot box Tuesday to put the final stamp on what has shaped up to be the most deeply divided election in the nation's history.

On one hand, voters have Democrat John Kerry, defined by his opponents as a windsurfing flip-flopper who has a hard time taking a position on what he had for breakfast.

On the other hand, there's Republican George W. Bush, maligned by critics as a dim-witted cowboy who started a war in Iraq without provocation and with no plans for an exit strategy.

Such attacks may lead voters to cast their ballots simply because they don't want the other guy to win. The finger of blame for this lesser-of-two-evils approach to voting can be pointed in many directions.

In short, it's a question of character.

Stephen Hess, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., said character in American politics is defined by how well voters know the candidates or more importantly, how comfortable they are with them.

"This is not something that is unique to this election," said Hess, an expert in political campaigns and the presidency. "People are only now examining their records. Do they feel comfortable with them? That is the question of character."

He said the reason why character rises to such an esteemed level with American voters is because most voters don't pay attention to politics on a daily basis.

"Americans are one of the least political people in the world," he said. "If you ask a person what the most important things are in their lives, they'll say things like health, their job, family. They'll need more than 10 fingers before they get to politics."

Because of that laissez-faire attitude, Americans don't always get to know the challenger, or get comfortable with him until the eve of an election. Hess said that only over the past month have voters really come to know Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts.

On the other hand, Americans have been getting a good look at Bush for the past four years and have a solid idea of his character and how he will handle issues.

The main knock on Kerry's character is that he has changed his position on multiple issues, including the war in Iraq, earning the flip-flop label.

Kerry inadvertently cemented this legacy when he famously said, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

Kerry, who voted to go to war in Iraq but now opposes it, was explaining his October 2003 decision to nix an $87 billion supplemental funding bill for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had previously supported an alternative bill that funded the $87 billion by cutting some of President Bush's tax cuts.

The Massachusetts senator later tried to explain away the quote as "one of those inarticulate moments," but the damage was already done and his credibility was open to attack.

Likewise, detractors have panned President Bush as a butcher of the English language who manufactured evidence to go to war in Iraq. His often incomprehensible responses, particularly about U.S. goals in Iraq, have delighted his opposition and left some questioning his intelligence.

"It breaks my heart to see the loss of innocent life and to see brave troops in combat lose their life. It just breaks my heart. But I understand what's going on," Bush said last month at a campaign stop in Derry, N.H. "These people are trying to shake the will of the Iraqi citizens, and they want us to leave. That's what they want us to do. And I think the world would be better off if we did leave. If we didn't -- if we left, the world would be worse."

In another election year, such criticisms and slips of the tongue would prove costly to a candidate. But in an election in which neither candidate seems ready, or willing, to go for the kill, each has gotten away with ham-fisted comments that drew little or no reprisal.

Despite their flaws, each candidate has his share of ardent supporters.

Patrick Romano, of Palmer Township, said he was a registered independent until recently when he changed his party affiliation to Republican to show solidarity for Bush.

"Character, to me, doesn't mean likeability," said the 62-year-old retiree. "I don't have to like a person to respect them. I can respect a politician. I can like them for what they've done, for what they stand for and for what they say."

Romano said he is supporting Bush because he has no respect for Kerry, who he called a "liar and an exaggerator" who broke U.S. law when, after returning from the war in Vietnam, met with a North Vietnamese delegation in Paris in 1970.

"That is to me, something to be hung for," Romano said. "In my opinion, if someone took him out and hung him tomorrow -- I wouldn't care less. He's worthless."

His support for Bush comes down to his opinion that the president has made tough choices during his first term and stuck by them.

"He's decisive. He may not be eloquent, but then again he was never a lawyer," Romano said, referring to Kerry's previous occupation. "He's been responsible and he genuinely cares about the people of this country, I feel."

For the past 32 years, Upper Mount Bethel Township resident John Bass has sat on the sidelines each Election Day and waited for the results, knowing he could not participate. A native of England, Bass, 62, never became an American citizen and therefore was barred from voting.

This year, he became a citizen just so he could cast his vote for Bush.

"I feel this election is very important," he said. "I have a lot of faith in President Bush and I feel I have to do my part."

Bass, director of facilities for an area company, said Bush's character proves he is a strong leader and the right commander in chief for this time in history.

"I feel very strongly that he's the right man for the job and for the trouble we're in right now," he said. "I think he's a man that can be trusted, a man of character and a man who says what he means and means what he says."

Conversely, Bass said Kerry shows poor leadership skills because he spends too much time listening to polls, focus groups and what people have to say rather than doing what he feels is the right thing to do.

"I don't think he's confident in his own skin. He doesn't know where he stands on anything," Bass said.

To Julie Bell and her husband, Boris Vallejo, just the opposite is true. Bell said Kerry's willingness to change positions on issues shows he takes the time to ponder problems rather than responding in knee-jerk fashion, a key character trait that will earn him her vote.

"A person's character is who they are, it's vital to the center of the person. That's why I don't like Bush," said Bell, 46, of Allentown.

She said when Kerry speaks, "you get an immediate sense that he is somebody who is a strong person."

"I think he is someone who thinks about things. He doesn't just react to one idea, he considers things," Bell said.

Bush is also too concerned with trying to placate conservatives and Republican Party leaders, she said.

Bush "is someone who looks like a puppet of other people. He looks like someone trying to please his little group. He's not concerned about the big picture," Bell said.

Since he became the Democratic front-runner, Kerry has faced a daily barrage from conservatives who have criticized his record and labeled him a flip-flopper. Vallejo, 63, said Kerry's willingness to admit he was wrong and change his mind isn't flip-flopping, but a sign of good leadership.

"The guy actually has character. If you change your mind on something, that's just realizing you made a mistake. Making a mistake is not a bad thing, making a mistake and not being able to see it is the bad thing," Vallejo said.

Not being able to admit a mistake is one of the biggest flaws in Bush's character, Vallejo said. He pointed out an instance in the Oct. 8 debate in which one person asked Bush to name three mistakes he made in his presidency and he danced around the question.

"He's stubborn," Vallejo said.

Bush's handling of the war in Iraq will cost him the vote of 25-year-old Michael Hoffman, a former Macungie resident who served in Iraq from March to May 2003. When he returned home to Pennsylvania after an honorable discharge, Hoffman became an anti-war advocate and in July he co-founded Iraq Veterans Against the War.

While Hoffman said he is not entirely thrilled with Kerry, he will vote for him because "Bush hasn't been straight with us about the war."

He also said Bush is trying to paint a "rosy picture" of what is happening in Iraq. The situation over there is completely different from how the administration is spinning it, Hoffman said, adding he wishes Bush were more like Kerry in that he could reverse his policy in Iraq.

"He's very decisive and that's not a good thing," said Hoffman, who served with the First Marine Division. "They've labeled Kerry as a flip-flopper, but if you realize you're not right about something you should fix it. That's something the president is not willing to do."

"That's one of the biggest points of leadership," he added. "No one is infallible; you need to admit your mistakes."

While he will vote for Kerry, Hoffman has refused to actively campaign or stump for him because of his pledge to send more troops to Iraq.

"He hasn't said what I want him to say and that is, 'Bring them home now,' " Hoffman said.

For 47-year-old Ken Kasprzak of Forks Township, neither Kerry nor Bush has the answer he's looking for. Kasprzak said he is fed up with the two-party system because it continually churns out sub-par candidates who toe the party line but do little to move the country in a positive direction.

"I think both sides have made a concerted effort to hold onto their seats and have disillusioned and upset the electorate," he said. "Their focus is on maintaining their base; their focus is on increasing their power, and the undecided voter, I don't believe, has their interest at all."

"They're the party choices and they're trying so hard to make this a two-party system and keep it locked up for themselves," he added. "They're not giving people a choice -- that's the last thing they want."

Kasprzak characterized Bush as dim and called him a puppet of the Republican Party, whose real strings are pulled by party bosses.

"I don't think Bush is too bright and I think he's being used by the people who are behind him (in the party)," he said. "And I don't think he's smart enough to realize this."

Kasprzak said he's also disillusioned by Kerry because he mimics many Republican points and has not clearly said where he stands on many issues.

"He can't make up his mind," he said.

Kasprzak said he thinks independent candidate Ralph Nader would be a better choice than both Kerry and Bush but conceded, "Even he's out there on some things."

In the end, Kasprzak said he may throw his support behind the Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Michael Badnarik.

Reporter Russ Flanagan can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at rflanagan@express-times.com.